Destroyers built for India to be armed with BrahMos missiles

Russia and India signed the agreement to create a hypersonic BrahMos missile at the previous Maritime Defence Show last year

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ST. PETERSBURG, July 6 (Itar-Tass) - Project 15 destroyers being built in India will be armed with BrahMos missiles made by a Russian-Indian joint venture of the same name, BrahMos Aerospace Executive Director for Russia Alexander Maksichev said.

“Project 15A ships are already armed with BrahMos missiles and they will be used on Project 15B ships as well,” Maksichev said at the 6th International Maritime Defence Show in St. Petersburg ion Saturday, July 6.

India is building eight destroyers, four for each project.

Russia and India signed the agreement to create a hypersonic BrahMos missile at the previous Maritime Defence Show last year.

Earlier this year India successfully tested a BrahMos supersonic missile from an underwater platform. This was the first time that any supersonic cruise missile was launched vertically from a submerged platform.

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test fired from the Indian Navy's newest guided missile frigate INS Tarkash off the coast of Goa in late May.

The missile performed high-level “C” manoeuvre at pre-determined flight path and successfully hit the target. The surface-to-surface missile, having a range of 290-km, was test launched from the Russian-built Project 1135.6 class warship.

BrahMos cruise missiles have been adopted by India's Army and the Navy’s surface ships. The Indian Air Force has also ordered a batch of land-based missiles. Work is also underway to adapt the missile to Su-30MKI planes used by the Indian Air Force.

BrahMos is an acronym of the two rivers: Brahmaputra in India and Moskva in Russia.

When visiting the headquarters of the Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace Limited that makes supersonic cruise missiles, the chief of the Russian Army General Staff said that the joint venture made “reliable missiles that have few matches in the world.”

“A state with such weapons has a serious combat capability,” he said.

The joint venture has designed a new version of the supersonic cruise missile of the same name that can be launched from submarines.

“The missile is ready for use from submarines,” Alexander Maksichev, managing co-director of the joint venture, told Itar-Tass.

The missiles are intended for use aboard the Scorpion-type submarine, for which the Indian Navy has placed orders in France.

The Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos has designed a new version of the supersonic cruise missile of the same name that can be launched from submarines.

“We have proposed that these submarines be armed with BrahMos missiles too,” Maksichev said.

The BrahMos missile has a flight range of up to 290 kilometres and is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of 300 kilograms. The missile can cruise at a maximum speed of 2.8 Mach.